The Criminal

Ch. 10: Whatever the hell is going on here... it stops.

I look to Hunter in the hopes his face will offer reprieve. I don't know how to navigate the mafia world and I certainly don't have the means to do so in a way that honours both my safety and my morals. I may have saved Hunter from being shot, but at what cost? The more I try to help him, the more I seem to get tangled up in his messes.

"Fuck!" he yells, succumbing to his rage.

He kicks a chair, sending the thing flying, and repeats the action on another. I contemplate stopping him but am too stunned to summon words. All I can think about is how I'm technically the employee of London's biggest mafia boss.

"Hunter—"

He ignores me. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

I grab my phone, fingers shaking as I navigate my contacts. "I need to call Freddie."

"NO!" pleads Hunter, finally acknowledging my presence. "No police, Nicole."

"I have to—"

"He'll kill him." He gently takes hold of my face. "He'll kill anyone you tell."

My eyes widen as I take in his desperation. "Okay, what do we do then?"

He contemplates our next step, all awhile holding my face. "We do as we're told and keep ourselves out of trouble. That should buy us some time until we figure out our next move."

I struggle to grasp at what he's saying.

"That's it?" I ask. "That's your big plan? Fucking bend over backwards for this arsehole?"

"We don't have any other choice, Nicole!"

"You always have a choice, Hunter!" I argue, pushing on his chest. "This!" I yell, taking hold of his injured hands. "This isn't living. You're his fucking lap dog and you hate it. Let's take him down."

He shakes his head in disbelief. "You don't just take men like Lowes down overnight. That's not how it works."

"Then we won't do it overnight. We'll take our time. Infiltrate. If we gather up enough evidence against him, we can take the bastard out! Freddie will help us."

Hunter stalls, processing my proposal.

"You say you don't have a choice," I continue. "But I'm giving you a choice right now. Let me help you and let's fuck Lowes like he's fucking us."

Adrenaline pumps through me as narrowed, turquoise eyes meet mine, calm and collected. Hunter's entire body stills before finally springing into action, hands gripping my shoulder.

"Okay, fine! Let's do it."

Holy shit!

"Are you serious?" I ask, excited.

"Yes. But they're rules!"

I nod, letting him know I'm all ears.

"No one can know about this, Nicole. No one. Not Freddie, not James. Understood?"

I go to argue.

"We'll involve Freddie when the time is right."

"Fine."

"And this." He gestures between us. "Whatever the hell is going on here... it stops."

My initial response is to frown.

"Lowes will use our feelings against us."

"He already has," I argue.

"So, let's make sure there's nothing else there to use!" he insists. "We're friends, Nicole. Work colleagues."